Katie and Cory's Avon Gardens Wedding Ceremony Script. Avon, Indiana

Katie and Cory did a lot of customization on their short and sweet wedding ceremony script.  They started with Romantic Ceremony 2 from my Elopement Ceremony Scripts and added prayers, blessing and other readings.  They had originally chosen from pre-written vows but decided to write their own vows instead.  What was really interesting to me was they each had chosen different pre-written vows that they wanted to say instead of both saying the same thing.  I'd never really thought it about it from that angle before but I really liked  it when I saw it.  

It was an absolutely beautiful Friday evening for their wedding at Avon Gardens in Avon, Indiana.  

Katie and Cory's Wedding Ceremony!

Opening Prayer

​In the presence of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we have come together to witness the marriage of Katie and Cory. To pray for God’s blessings on them, to share their joy and celebrate their love.

Words about Love and Marriage
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Marriage symbolizes the intimate sharing of two lives. This sharing must not diminish, but enhance the individuality of each partner. You do not shed your individuality, for that is what brought you together in the first place. Marriage is the loving declaration that you should be no other than yourself. A lasting marriage is not stagnant. The relationship and each individual are continually growing and developing. Your understanding of each other deepens and evolves. It is not this ceremony or the state of being married that will truly join and hold you together, but your ongoing commitment to your relationship and to the kind of life you wish to make together. In this way, your marriage will not be just a symbol; it will be more than that. It will be an action, something you work actively on every day.

Only once in your lifetime, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around.  You tell them things that you’ve never shared with a soul and they absorb everything you say, and actually want to hear more.  You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you.  They are not embarrassed to cry with you or laugh. They build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special. There is a quiet calmness when they are around.  You can be yourself because they love you for all you are. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, and you are quite content. Things that never interested you before become fascinating.  You open your heart and experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to feel true pleasure and it’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend who will remain loyal to the end.  Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are part of your life.

Treat Yourselves and Each Other with Respect

Treat yourselves and each other with respect,  and remind yourselves often of what brought you together. Give the highest priority to the tenderness, gentleness, and kindness that your connection deserves.  When frustration, difficulties, and fear assail your relationship, as they threaten all relationships at one time or another, remember to focus on what is right between you, not only the part which seems wrong. In this way, you can ride out the storms  when clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives... remembering that even if you lose sight of it for a moment, the sun is still there. And if each of you takes responsibility for the quality of your life together, it will be marked by abundance and delight. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Vows 

Cory would like to say a few personal words to Katie...

Katie, I take you as my wife, with your faults and your strengths, as I offer myself to you with my faults and my strengths. I will help you when you need help and turn to you when I need help. I choose you, every day, as the person with whom I will share my life. I pledge to to love, cherish and protect you for all of my days with all my heart and soul. When the ups and downs of life happen, I will stand by your side and we will face them together because I am strongest when I am by your side. I promise you forgiveness, understanding and friendship. I will listen to you and be present in the moment with you and not worry about challenges or triumphs that tomorrow may bring.From this day until forever, I am yours.

Katie would like to say a few personal words to Cory.

Cory, For nearly a decade, you have loved me with such unconditional patience and care. You are my safe space. When I see you, I see home, and no matter what may come our way, I will always fiercely protect my home and I promise that I’ll always choose you and love you above all others.  I am the best version of me when I’m with you. You keep me grounded and motivated to better myself. I want to be the woman you deserve and I promise to spend the rest of my life earning your love. I promise to love you fully, encourage you, respect you, support, and believe in you. I promise to listen with an open mind and an open heart.  I promise to have patience through the dark times and be a safe space for your secrets and vulnerabilities. I promise to stand beside you in sickness and in health, in times of prosper and decline, in peace and in turmoil, as long as we both shall live. I am forever committed to you as your friend and as your loving wife and I cannot imagine continuing this journey with anyone but you, the love of my life. I love you.

Ring exchange

This is the point in the ceremony where we usually talk about the wedding bands being a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end.  But we all know that these rings do have a beginning. Rock is dug up from the earth. Metal is liquefied in a furnace at a thousand degrees, then molded, cooled, and painstakingly polished.  Something beautiful is made from raw elements. Love is like that. It comes from humble beginnings, made by imperfect beings. It's the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all.

Cory, please repeat after me:  Katie, this ring is my promise to accept your imperfections and appreciate all that makes you unique and beautiful.

Katie, please repeat after me:  Cory, This ring is my promise to accept your imperfections and appreciate all that makes you unique and beautiful.

Final Blessings

Katie and Cory, May all your days be blessed with love and friendship. May each day and night of your lives be a new beginning. May your home be filled with laughter and the warm embrace of a summer’s day. May you find peacefulness and beauty, challenge, and satisfaction, humor and insight, healing and renewal, love and wisdom, as in a quiet heart and may you always feel that what you have is enough.

Closing Prayer

God, we ask for your blessings upon this man and woman, as we celebrate this momentous occasion in their lives. Grant them happiness and contentment as they establish their new home, create a new family and explore the depths of their love for one another and for you. Bless their families and friends and the relationships, which have supported, strengthened and sustained them throughout their lives. Bless their home as a place of love and of peace.
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And if times grow hard and tempers grow short, help them to look into their hearts and remember the love that brought them here today. Amen.

In the presence of this good company, by the power of their love, Katie and Cory have given themselves to each other by solemn vows with the joining of hands and the giving and receiving of rings.  In the name of God the father, the son, and the holy spirit, I pronounce you husband and wife!

You may kiss your bride!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs...
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